Container with dual tape opening device



Jun@ U, i968 s. E. ROHOWETZ 3,387,739

CONTAINER WITH DUAL TAPE OPENING DEVICE Filed March 28, 1966 3,387,739CONTAINER WITH DUAL TAPE OPENING DEVICE Stanley Edward Rohowetz,Barrington, Ill., assignor to American Can Company, New York, N.Y., acorporation of New Jersey Filed Mar. 28, 1966, Ser. No. 538,021 6Claims. (Cl. 220-53) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A can which is easilyopenable without the use of opening tools and which may withstand thepressure developed when the can is used to heat process comestibles. Thecan has a body which is slit about the major portion of its periphery,the slit terminating adjacent to, and on either side of the side seam,an inner tape which completely covers the slit and which itself iscovered by a wider tape except for a grasping tab on the inner tapeprojecting beyond one end of the outer tape so that when the tab ispulled, the inner tape will tear through the outer tape to permit theend of the can to be moved upwardly with respect to the can body.

This invention relates generally to hermeticfally sealed containershaving an easy opening feature, and to the means for effecting suchopening. In particular, the opening feature is dependentppon a noveldual tape sealing and opening device for containers which may be heat`processed after filling.

In recent years, there has been considerable development in the consumerpackaging field which has added appeal to the consumer because ofvarious convenience features which they offer. One o-f the most popularof such features is easy opening. However, although it is comparativelysimple to incorporate easy opening features in containers made ofrelatively soft tea-rable materials such as paper and plastic, it ismore difficult in the case of relatively rigid sheet metal cans whichare closed by means `of permanently sealed end members secured to thecontainer body by such means as a double seam. A number of manualopening features have been incorporated in the ends of such containers,but an opening tool is generally necessary when it is desired to removethe end together with a narrow portion of the body adjacent the doubleseam.

One such opening feature which removes the entire closure end togetherwith a portion of the body adjacent the double seam is shown in UnitedStates Patent 3,186,- 581. Although this container has proven to besuccessful in the packaging of comestibles that are not processedsubsequent to packaging, such as coffee, it is not amenable to thepackaging of comestibles which must be heat processed after having beenhermetically sealed within the container.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a manuallyopenable hermetically sealed container.

Another object of the invention is to provide an easily opened containerwhich may be manufactured at high speed on automated equipment.

A further object is to provide a tear tape easily opened container whichmay be subjected to conventional high temperature food processingwithout leaking.

Yet another object is the provision of a heat processable can which maybe easily opened merely by the removal therefrom of an easily peelablesealing tape.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentas it is better understood from the following description, which, whentaken in connection States Patent O ICC with the accompanying drawings,discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

In accomplishing the above objects, an easily opened container isprovided having an opening within the body for subsequent removal of theproduct packaged therein. Overlying the opening and a marginal area ofthe wall adjacent the opening is a narrow, inner tape. An outer, Widertape overlies the inner tape. Marginal parts o-f the outer tape extendover and adhesively secure the outer tape to the outer surface of theinner tape and also the w'all adjacent the inner tape. A tab is providedon the inner tape which projects outwardly beyond the end periphery ofthe outer tape so that when the tab is pulled away from the Wall, theinner tape pulls from the Wall, tears the outer tape, and uncovers theopening.

Referring to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a container embodying the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a plan View of a container body blank incorporating a dualtape according to the invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan View of a portion of a container body blank showing amodified form of the dual tape;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken at 4-4 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional View taken at 5-5 in FIG. l; and

FIG. 6` is a view similar to FIG. 5 but showing initiation of an openingoperation.

As a preferred or exemplary embodiment of the instant invention, thedrawings show a tubular container 10 with a dual tape 11 covering acircumferential opening or slit 12 in the body wall 15 which extendsless than 360 around the body and terminates near the side seam 16 inthe body wall. Incidentally, if the container were rectangular inhorizontal cross-section, the slit could extend around only three sidesof the body. In e'ach instance, the unslit portion 17 of the wall,remaining between the ends of the slit, serves as a hinge whereon theupper portion of the container may be swung to fully open position.

At least the upper end of the container 10 may be closed 4by an endmember 18 secured to the body wall 15, such as by a double seam 19 thatprojects slightly outwardly from the body wall 15.

The dual tape 11 comprises an inner tape 21 and an outer tape 22. Theinner ta-pe 21 is preferably of a material having relatively hightensile strength such as a metal, or a hig'h strength thermoplasticproduct such as nylon, which is a synthetic polyamide made byinteraction of a dicarboxylic acid with a diamine, or Mylar, which is apolyethylene terephthalate. It has been found than an aluminum tape Msinch wide and 0.005 inch thick, has the strength and flexibilityrequired.

The outer tape 22 is of relatively low tearing strength. It may be ofmaterial such as metal7 metal foil, paper or plastic. For the outer tape22, a 0.002 inch thick aluminum tape, with a relatively high H19 temper,will function properly in opening the container 10.

The outer tape 22 may be secured along its marginal portions to thecontainer wall 15 and the subjacent inner tape 21 by a non-peelableadhesive 26 such as a thermosetting or thermoplastic resin adhesive or asolder, dependent upon the material or materials of which the ltape andthe container wall are made. For the herein- -before mentioned Al-Aldual tape, a high shear bonding polyurethane adhesive provides adequatebonding. The non-peelable adhesive provides a bond which will resistpeeling beyond the tearing strength of the outer tape 22.v

The inner tape 21 may be bonded to the container wall 15 by a peelableadhesive 26, which may be pressure sensitive. The peelable adhesiveprovides a good seal, but its bond between the inner -tape and containerwall is weaker than the tensile strength of the inner tape 21 and thusdoes not resist peeling when the inner tape 21 is pulled from thecontainer wall 15 to tear through the outer tape and open the container.

One adhesive having such low peel properties is apolyurethane-polycarbonate blend sold by the 3M Corporation as )CB-4020.This adhesive gives a tape peel force of about 2-3 poun-ds per linealinch of tape width. Thus, for the aforementioned Al-Al dual tape, thetotal force required for opening is only 1-3 pounds, which includes theforce to tear the outer tape 22.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 through 6, a portion of the inner tape 21is left projecting as a tab 28 beyond an end of the outer tape 22 and isfree to rbe grasped and pulled to open the container in the mannerhereinbefore described. The tab 28 may also be hemmed, as shown in FIG.4.

As shown in FIG. 3, the tab 28 is an integral portion of the dual tape11 beyond a scored, notched or otherwise transversely weakened portion29 of the outer tape 22. This tab 28 may be a folded portion of the dualtape, or left free from or loosely held to the container body 15 so thatit may be readily gripped and pulled to effect the opening operation asthe inner tape 21 is removed.

If desired, the peripheral portion of the outer tape 22, closest to theend member 18, may extend into the double seam 19 to decrease thepossibility of accidental separation of the dual tape 11 from the bodywall 15.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantageswill be clearly understood from the foregoing description, and it willbe apparent that various changes may be made in the forni, constructionand arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, theforms hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodimentthereof.

I claim:

1. An easily opened container comprising in combinav tion:

a body wall having a side seam and a slit extending through said wallabout a major portion of the periphery thereof and terminating adjacentto, and on either side of said side seam;

an inner narrow tape overlying said slit and a marginal area of saidwall adjacent said slit;

an outer wider tape overly-ing said inner tape and having marginalportions extending over and adhesively secured with non-peelableadhesive to said wall adjacent the said inner tape; and

a tab on said :inner tape projecting outwardy beyond the periphery ofsaid outer tape whereby a pull on said tab away from said wall peelssaid inner tape from said wall, tears said outer tape and uncovers saidslit.

2. A `container of claim 1 wherein an adhesive having low peelresistance secures said inner tape to said marginal area of the Wallaround said opening.

3. A container of cla'im 1 wherein atleast one of said tapes Iis ofthermoplastic material and adhesion is effected by the application ofheat thereto.

4. .A container of claim 1 wherein an end member is secured to the bodywall in a seam which projects outwardly from said wall and a lateralportion of said outer tape extends into said Seam.

5. A `container of claim 1 wherein said inner ytape Ais a polyethyleneterephthalate narrow ribbon, and said outer tape is a Wider tape ofaluminum foil coated with a thermoplastic resin adhesive.

6. A container of claim 1 wherein said outer tape is adhesively securedwith a non-peelable adhesive to Vthe outer surface of said inner tape.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,096,905 7/'1963 Kenney 220-533,186,581 6/ 1965 Schneider et al. -220-53 FOREIGN PATENTS 722,5!18 1/1955 Great Britain.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

G. T. HALL, Assistant Examiner.

